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No. 563,632. Patented July 7, 1896.

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IINTTED STATES PATENT @erica SIDNEY F. IVILCOX, OF NEIN YORK, N. Y.

BICYCLE-BRAK E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 563,632, dated July 7,1896.

Application filed December 28, 1895. Serial No. 573,636` (No morlcl To@ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SIDNEY F. VVILCOX, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, in the county and State of New York, have inventednew and useful Improvements in Bicycle-Brakes, of which the following isa full, clear, and exact specification.

My invention relates to improvements in brakes for bicycles and othervehicles; and it consists in the novel mechanical construei tion of thesaine hereinafter fully described.

The object of iny invention is to provide a bra-kc for bicycles andother vehicles, which brake shall be of simple construction and whichshall effectively operate to frictionally engage with the rim or fellyof the wheel rather than with. the outer tire. It has been demonstratedthat the use of a brake which engages with the tire proper very ofteninj ures the material of which. the tire is formed, and frequently to adegree beyond repair. This is particularly true as to pneumatic tires inwhich the outer layer or shoe (commonly of rubber) is torn away by thefrictional contact of the brake from the next lower layer, (usually afabric,) exposing the same to contact with the road, thus rendering thetire liable to puncture. This objectionable feature is entirely overcomeIby the use of the construction herein described and claimed, whichprovides that the brake shoe or shoes shall engage only with the fellyor rim portion of the wheel, which is usually constructed of iron orwood and which is therefore better adapted to withstand the frictionalcontact of the brake-shoes.'

My invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure 1 is a front elevation of the upper portion of the front fork ofa bicycle, the wheel rim and tire, and my improved brake, a portion ofthe same being shown in section on line 1 l, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of the parts illustrated in Fig. 1, the said view beingslightly in perspective. Fig. 3 is a section on line 3 3, Fig. l,illustrating a plan view of my improved brake mechanism. .A A are thefront-fork blades. B is the tire. D is the wheel-rim supporting saidtire. E E

are clamps detachably secured to said forkblades and being susceptibleof higher or lower adjustment thereon. If desirable, these clamps may beprovided with suitable outward extensions forming foot-rests F F.

G is a bracket extending from each clamp and to which the brake-leversare pivotally connected.

I-I II are brake-levers pivotally connected at a point intermediate intheir length to the brackets G G. These brake-levers H II are .bypreference provided one on each side of the wheel. One end of eachbrake-lever is adapted to carry a brake-shoe I, while the opposite endis by preference provided with a flattened surface J upon which pressuremay be applied by the foot ot' the rider. The ends J J of thebrake-levers when depressed cause the opposite ends carrying the shoes II to rise, so as to contact with the under or inner side of thewheel-rin1 I). In order that pressure on the extremity J of one of thebrakelcvers may cause both brake-slices I I (where two are used) to riseand engage the wheel` rim, I by preference provide the arched connectionK, extending over the tire B. This connection may be made at any desiredpoint in the length of said levers and prevents the independent tiltingof the same. In open ation it will be seen that by this constructionboth levers II II will move simultaneously and both brake-shoes I I willtherefore engage with the wheel-rim on opposite sides of thewheel-spokes at the same time. By this means, which illustrates thepreferable forni of construction, the pressure on each side of thewheel-rin1 is substantially equal, thus preventing any tendency to throwthe wheel out of true, as might be the case if undue pressure werebrought to hear on one side only of the rim.

The preferable construction comprises the clamps E E,adjustablysupported bythe forkblades A A, the foot-rests F F,extendin gtherefrom, and the brake-levers II II, connected as described andpivotally supported by the clamps, either directly or through the mediumof brackets G G. By this means the rider, when itis desired to util izethe brake, steadies the foot upon the rest F and with the heel opcratesthe brake by pressing on the end J of the brake.

The rider may use both feet in operating the brake if desirable.

Obviously the foot-rests F F may be dispensed with if desirable.

The extremities J J of the brakedevers H H may be either fiattened,rounded, or in any other Way modified. The brake-levers H H may bepivotally connected either mediately or immediately to the clamps E E.

The arched connection K may be provided with the joint L to permit thespread of the same to vary, so that the device may be tted to frontforks of varying widths.

The device illustrated is normally adapted to stand in the positionindicated in Figs. l and 2, in which position the brake-shoes areslightly away from the wheelrim, the same being accomplished by theaction of gravity. It is obvious,however, that any well-known form ofspring may be applied to the device to cause the same to normally remainin said position.

In the drawings hereto annexed the brakeshoes are adapted to contactwith the under side of the wheelrim at points in front of thefork-blades A A. It is obviously onlynecessary to reverse the adjustmentof the brake device to cause the brake-shoes to engage with thewheel-rim to the rear of said fork-blades, in which event thebrake-lever would be operated by the ball of the foot rather than by theheel.

It is apparent that in carrying out my invention it may be desirable tomake some changes in the particular construction shown and de? scribed,and I would therefore have it understood that I do not limit myself tospecific forms of construction, but hold myself at liberty to make suchchanges as are fairly within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Figi shows another method of con struction by which the ends I I of thebrake-levers H H are bent over to form a brake-shoe, so that a rubberband M may be stretched over it anu held in place by a flange N. Theshoe I may be used without the rubber band M or the flange N, ifdesired.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

l. Abicycle-brake comprising the brake-levers pivotally connected atpoints intermediate in their length to clamps adjustably secured on thefork-blades, on each side of the wheel, a rigid arched connectionbetween said brake-levers, and brake-shoes carried by said brake-leversbelow the wheel-rim, substann tially as described.

2. The combination in a bicycle-brake of clamps adjustably mounted onthe forliblades, foot-rests extending from said clamps` with bracketsextending from said clamps. brake-levers pivotally connected at pointsintermediate in their length to said brackets, an arch rigidly connectedto said brake-levers. the joint L in said arch permitting the same tospread, brake-shoes carried by said levers underneath thewheel-rim,substantially as deg scribed.

SIDNEY F. VILCOX.

Witnesses:

C. B. EATON, J. S. OswALD.

